Open fractures of the tibia.

The authors call attention to the work of Trueta on open fractures and to the fact that, even today, his principles are followed all over the world. Today, such fractures are immobilized with external skeletal fixation instead of plaster casts. The results are presented of 71 patients with severe open fractures of the tibia who were treated by external skeletal fixation. In three patients, in whom infection developed, the fractures united after cancellous bone grafting. Reference is made to some recent experiments on the fat of bone cells transplanted into infected cavities.